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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Wednesday, 30th August 2023
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Reviews of Drayman's Son (Average Rating: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Quinno _ left this review about Drayman's Son
Tidy two-tiered alehouse, which whilst monikered as a micropub isn’t really (if you use the Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s maxim for pornography, anyway). Basic alehouse interior but on the right side of austere with parquet flooring, enamel signs, railway memorabilia and some old bits of mechanical engineering. A substantial (and fairly local – Three Blind Mice seem to have a tie-in) drink selection with five cask including a mild and stout, six craftykeg, 14 ciders and nine Belgo-German bottles. Friendly young barmaid, presumably the music choice of languid modern Indie was hers. I went for a Papworth Mild Thing which came off stillage in a cold room, and very good it was too (NBSS 4.5). So I also had another one, Three Blind Mice Simple Stout (NBSS 3.5). Some grumbles below about pricing but I didn’t see anything to make me wince – and you get what you pay for here. Best pub in Ely for choice aligned with quality and quite possibly also the extended locale; make time for at least two in here. Naturally, it's Good Beer Guide listed.
On 13th September 2023
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Drayman's Son
As with my Southeast London crawl the day before, I'd started my day in the worst pub and graduated to the best at the end of the day (although I did still have one more to go back to that had earlier been closed).
The Drayman's Son is a micropub situated on Forehill that does not open until 5pm during the week. In fact, during the daytime it has a kind of derelict appearance. If it wasn't for the opening times posted, I wouldn't have known that it was a pub or indeed whether it was still open.
However, shortly before 5:30 pm, it was mostly definitely open and already quite busy. A steady flow of customers arrived during my visit.
There is an area of seating near the windows at the front, with a few steps beyond leading to the small bar area in the far right-hand corner, with a further low table and some stools placed alongside a shelf.
The efficient staff member took orders and after fetching beers or ciders from the cold room at the rear, brought them to your table.
Blackboards list the real ales and craft beers, as well as the real ciders. I was amazed to find a list of 19 real ciders, with 4 I'd never previously had.
There seems to be some kind of link to the Three Blind Mice brewery here, but they didn't dominate the beer lists. Real ales were Ampersand The Cap Bitter, Parkway Cheeky Money, Baker's Dozen Cryo at the Discotheque & Straight Outta Ketton, Crafty Beers Stout, Milestone Azacca & Three Blind Mice Juice Rocket.
Craft beers were Three Blind Mice Sour Pineapple & Lemongrass & IPA Galaxy & Simcoe, Lost & Grounded Keller Pils, Vaux Black Wave & Fallen Switch.
The 19 aforementioned ciders were Cromwell's Oliver's Session, Oliver's Choice, Oliver's Sweetheart & Cavalier Perry, Lilley's Strawberry Cider, Mango Cider, Rum Cider, Apple & Pears, Elderflower Cider, Rhubarb Cider & Gladiator, Thistly Cross Whisky Cask & Simon's Sweet P, Cox, East Meets West, Short Stirling, Dabinett, 5 Pear Perry & Vice Versa. In addition, there was a mead!
There is an abundance of railway memorabilia around the walls, along bizarrely with some car number plates.
I could have spent several more hours here, but my stomach was rumbling and Le Spice restaurant directly opposite was calling. But this was undoubtedly one of my favourite pub visits from the past years and I'd rate this pub as one of the best 10 I've been to in the UK. I have no hesitation to repeat the previous reviewer's score of 10/10 and hope to visit Ely again by train one day to spend much longer here.
On 8th October 2021
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Drayman's Son
A total gem of a micropub situated in a former shop premises on a street full of independent businesses.
The outside is attractive with its green and yellow livery, vintage guide dog collection piece and array of plant holders and colourful flowers. It could be mistaken for a florists and put me in mind of those Irish boozers situated in various shops.
The interior continues the eclectic and quirky vibe with a selection of old, mismatched furniture, an impressive collection of antique advertising signs and car number plates from around the world.
The welcome from Rob, who runs the place, was friendly and he is immensely knowledgeable on the beer served and very generous with tasters, advice and information. It was a pleasure to spend a couple of hours in his intelligent and entertaining company.
The real draw here though has to be the beer and the selection is spectacular. The pub was taken over by the Three Blind Mice Brewery in March 2018 and their beers are showcased here but they are extremely confident in the quality if the guests are anything to go by.
The beers are listed on a board to the left and are usually 6 cask and 6 keykegs all served from the tiny cellar at the back of the building.
Our visit found these gems: Three Blind Mice Draymans Best, Little Gem, Juice Rocket and Battle Scars, Amundsen Bryggert Norwegian Wild, Nene Valley John Lemon, Marble Earl Grey IPA, Lord Conrads Big Bad Wolf, Bakers Dozen Stamford Pale and The Big Twig, Milestone Summer Lovin and Pig and Porter Sandstorm Lager. There were many in there that I hadn't heard of but Rob expertly guided us through them introducing IPA's, session ales, sour beers, fruit beers and stouts.
We tried most, helped by the availability of 1/3rds and 2/3rds as well as halves, and all were in top condition with the keykeg virtually indistinguishable from the cask. In fact these were some of the best beers I've had all year and the Battle Scars heads my beer of 2018 list currently.
Fifteen real ciders and twelve gins were also available but these were never going to get a look in for us.
The pub does not appear in the 2018 GBG which, from what I gathered, seems to be down to some slightly petty administration and is an utter travesty.
Simply not to be missed and I wouldn't plan on visiting anywhere else in Ely, even the cathedral, if returning.
On 28th September 2018
- rating: 10
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
View more reviews of Drayman's Son (5)
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- Official site of Drayman's Son - www.draymansely.co.uk
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Drayman's Son - whatpub.com
Littleport, 5.96 miles, 1 hr 55 min walk (show)
Shippea Hill, 7.82 miles, 2 hr 30 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Darts : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : No - Pork pies and other snacks - last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Live Music : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Micropub : Yes last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : No last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
- WiFi : Yes last updated 13 September 2023 by Quinno _
